One-to-One: Autodesk Digital Prototyping and Relation to PLM

I had the chance to talk with … Buzz
Kross and the team at Autodesk about their virtual
prototyping strategy at a recent analyst day conducted in Portland
(Lake Oswego). I have not covered Autodesk directly in the past, so
this was a great opportunity for me to get up to speed and meet the
people that are setting their strategy - particularly in my case of
the manufacturing industries. I left impressed with
both their strategy and with what they have accomplished to
date, and with a much better understanding of how they fit
into the bigger picture of enabling product development and
engineering. The only expectation that was not met at the
conference was to hear Autodesk question the value of PLM. I
expected a bit more controversial of a view (although one I would
probably disagree with) and we pleasantly surprised to hear them
talk in an open forum about what I would expect some to say only
behind closed doors - PLM adds value too. Of course, they feel that
their approach provides value at a much faster rate or
return. 

What do they Offer?
Most people are familiar
with Autodesk and their CAD offerings. Autodesk has
extended their design offerings with a strategy to deliver “digital
prototyping” solutions. They key message here is that
great companies compete with great products - and design is the
key. The core of the design is a 3D Model, for the most part. What
impressed me, though, was the breadth of solutions that they have
(and are planning) to wrap around the model. The digital
prototype is a virtual representation of the product that not
only communicates the design to others (for feedback
and review, or downstream to suppliers or manufacturing) but
also allows the engineer to validate the product in a virtual
environment. Autodesk has been acquiring simulation /
computer aided engineering (CAE) applications and including those
in their digital prototyping solutions set. In addition, they have
been moving closer to manufacturing with solutions that bridge the
gap between the virtual and the physical product, for example with
the acquisition of Moldflow. This week, they also
announced another move to further their digital prototyping vision
by acquiring iLogic and related desktop rules-based design
automation technology from Logimetrix. Clearly, they are
very active on filling out the solutions in their
strategy.

One thing that struck me throughout the day was the way that
Autodesk views their products. The message was that all of
their products should be scalable (to large and small
companies), attainable, and cost effective. When it
comes to attainable, what Autodesk is doing struck a chord. They
are simplifying solutions (such as CAD/FEA) so that engineers can
use them directly. Some would argue that giving a tool like CAE to
a person that isn’t trained in the rigors of design analysis
(stress, thermal, etc.)  is a dangerous thing. I would agree.
If the option was between having a trained, experienced analyst
reviewing a design or the designer on their own - I would choose
the analyst. But Autodesk customers are more likely
choosing between having the designer do some analysis, or
not having any analysis done at all. Even in a
model where there are highly skilled analysts, a simpler approach
might allow an engineer to catch some issues early on their
own, saving time and an iteration with the CAE team. This approach
is a fundamental value to Autodesk - take a complicated
process, mask the complexity from the user, and make it usable by
everybody. This focus on ease of fits well in the types of
environments that Autodesk sells into.

How does this Fit into the Ecosystem?
This
was the surprise to me. My main exposure to Autodesk’s view on
PLM prior to the meeting came from the video of Carl Bass
(CEO) saying the only companies with a PLM problem are
Dassault, PTC, and UGS (Siemens). Based on that limited
knowledge, I expected a negative view on PLM. What I heard was
quite different. I heard Autodesk describe digital
prototyping as a parallel strategy - even a complementary strategy
- to PLM. There point was that enterprise level PLM has a
place, but that (in their view) companies are better served
focusing on their products. But they also indicated a willingness
to align (and even partner perhaps?) with enterprise PLM. Again,
they were clear that they felt digital prototyping was the better
approach, mainly because PLM is hard to achieve. To me,
both fit nicely into a “PLM Program” that is intended to
improve performance in product innovation, product development, and
engineering. Digital prototyping addresses the technical
aspect of the product, while PLM addresses the business end. I
believe both are valuable, and integration between the two is
essential. What I heard from Autodesk sounded remarkably similar to
that viewpoint, or at least as similar as it could from a company
focused on digital prototyping. I also have seen tremendous
benefits companies are achieving with PLM, so would caution
companies to consider their long-term view on PLM and then
determine how digital prototyping plays a role in the broader
strategy. But for many companies, PLM might be further off and the
emphasis spent on designing the best possible product. Perhaps I
need to rethink my term “PLM Program” to more readily reflect PLM
and digital prototyping? It is something I will have
to think about.

So that’s what I hear from Autodesk, I hope you found it useful.
What do you think? What else should I have asked them? Expect to
hear more from me on Autodesk in the future.